Improvement in em b roidering-m ach ines



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED HEAVEN AND ROBERT SMITH, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN EMBROIDERING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,368, dated April 28, 1863.

To all whom Iit 'may concern:

.Be it known that we, ALFRED HEAVEN and ROBERT SMITH, both of the city of Manchester, in the countyof Lancashire, Great Britain, have invented a new and usetul Machine for Embroidering by Steam or other Motive Power; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,

making part ot' this specification.' Our-invention is applicable to such machines with its opposite point presented through the cloth until the nippers on the other side grasp it to carry it therefrom and form the stitch.

Though weshalldescribetbe nipper mechanism as operating onlyone needle, any convenient number of them are to be used, they all operating in the same manner.

We would now remark that as neitherthe construction and arrangement of the pattern, the pentograph, nor the nippers form any part of our present invention, andare not necessary to be particularly understood to comprehend ourinveution, being also well known to persons skilled in the artot machine embroideriug, they are not particularly shown in the drawings, nor will they be further described, other than to observe that the nippers are the instruments which grasp and draw taut the thread to produce the strain thereon, for the purpose hereinafter to be described.

Our invention consists in the arrangement of mechanism to carry the nipper-carriage back and forth to and from the cloth-frame, in the mechanism for shipping the driving-belt of said carriage onto the fast and loose pulley, and inthe employment of the strain produced on the thread as it is drawn out trom the cloth to 'actuate the shipping mechanism.

Sheetl of the drawings represents an end elevation ot' the embroidery-trame with the machinery on one side thereof, (the exact counterpart of which machinery is placed on the otherside thereof.) Sheetz shows a front elevation of one end of the machine.

D denotes the embroidery-frame, hung midway in a frame-work, A,and having the operating or embroidery mechanism on each side thereof, excepting the shaft U and its immediate connection which are employed to give movement at the proper time to the mechanism on either side ot' the em broidery-frame, according as one or the other Dipper-carriage is being operated. B is the nipper-carriage, one or more ot' which can be used on each side ot' the frame D, as one or more needles are to be used. The carriage B traverses to and from the frame I) over ways l(J on each end of the carriage. The mechanism producing these toand-i'ro movements ot' the carriage is as follows: Each gnideway C has a toothed rack,

a', into and along which works a toothed wheel.

Q, fixed on a shaft, I, turning in bearings onthe vcarriage B. One end of a band, E, coils around a pulley, o, on the said shaft P, While theother end ofthe band coils or winds aronnda pulley, b', fixed on the shaftot'a rotating gear, N,

which meshes into and is worked by another gear, N', placed on a shaft carryingfast and loose pulleys M. The pulleys M are Worked by a band, J, running over pulley M and another pulley, L, which latter has a bevel- Wheel, K, on its shaft, meshing into and driven by a bevel gear, K', tixed on the po wer-shaft H,

which is driven by any proper motive power.

Motion being given to shaft-H (when the belt J is on fast pulley M) iu the proper direction, it rotates the gear N anti pulley b', and causes .the band E to wind around the latter. rlhis unwinds the band from the pulley O, rotating it and the gear Q, which rotation of gear Q causes it to run over its rack a', thereby' drawing the Dipper-carriage away from the clothfranie, pulling the needle and thread with it to make and tighten the stitch. When the carriage B has completed its outward movement and the belt J has been shipped, by means to be hereinafter described, onto the loose pulley M, the gears N N are let't free to rotate and permit the carriage Bv to return to the frame D, which return is produced ast'ollows: One end of a. strap, F, is fastened to a projection, V, ot' the carriage B, while the other end is fastened upon a compound pulley, W, to which is hung attached to its lower end.

a weight, Z, the weight of-which is suilicent to pull back the carriage B to the frame D. Instead of using the compound pulley, the strap F may pass immediately over the pulley W. and, depending therefrom, have the weight Z When the carriage B is up to the cloth-frame and ready for its next outward movement the belt J is to be shipped onto the fast pulley, which is done by the following mechanism. y

U is a vertical rotary shaft, hearing on its lower end a friction-drum, V, and being hung so as the drum V shall be capable of a swing ing motion, to bring it at the proper time into contact with either one of two friction-drums, i W, according as we may wish to operate the needle or nipper-carriage l5 on either side of the frame D. A bevelgear, Y', on top of shaft U, actuntesa bevel-gear, Y,on a shaft, X. Said shaft; Xcarries a'tappet, b, (see Sheet 2,) the lower end ot' which, as tappeti rotates, strikes against a swivel-catch, c, hung upon a lever or rod, d. A weight, c', serves to keep or bring` catch c into position. The rod d is bent up, as seen at c; or d and e may be two rods confined together. The rod e at top is jointed to and so as to actuate a small shaft, g, rotating` in hearings c', affixed to one ofthe guideways (l.

Depending from the outer end ofthe shaftg and turning with said shaft is a connecting and shipping rod,f, which, by a projectiomf', thereon or in connection with a projection, f2, trom a bar, lastraddles the belt J. Therefore when the drum V is brought by the operator into contact with the drum V on that side where the nipper-carriage is to be operated,

l rotation is given through shaftU and gearsY 4shipping the belt J from the fast onto the loose pulley at each expiration of outward movement of the carriage B, and the manner in which we employ the thread to act on this mechanism.

The thread R passes undervawire or rod, a2, extending across and in front of the nippercarriage B, andfconnecting two levers or tallers, s, placed near the opposite ends of the carriage, and springing from a rocking shaft, u, on one end of which a crank, u', is fixed, to

which crank a connecting-rod, u2, is jointed,

connecting the crank uiaud its shaft u with another crank, n3, placed `on a shaft, ut, which lower shaft, ai, may or may not have fallcrs s and rod o2, connected thereto. From this shaft a4. a lever, t, depends, so as to come into contact with arocking bar, a, kept in position, except when operated upon by the lever n, by a weight, p. This rocking har turns on a pivot, m, extending from auear or projection, n', from the bar. (See Sheet 2.) A stud, q, from said ear n bears against the under surface of the bark, before spoken of. Thebark has a catch, s', into which a tooth,l, catches. The rod j", before spoken of, connects bar k with the shaft g,and from thisshaftgabar, j, rises, which hasa retracting-spring, h, connecting it at top with the frame-work A. as follows: When in the movement of the carriage B from the vtraine D the thread tightens, the strain produced by its pull raises the rod c2, which turns the shaft. u, and through the cranks al a3 and connecting-rod u2 turns also the shalt ai. pushes down the bar a, raises the stud q, and through it the bar It', releasing the catch k from the tooth l. As soon as the catch lo is thus released the retracting-spriug li at top of bar j turns the shaft g, and thereby allows the rod j' tor rod fand studfz) to ship the belt onto the loose pulley. Upon the loosening of the thread, as the carriage B begins its return movement, the weight of the fallers s brings the rod c2 and connecting-rods, cranks, and shafts u, n', a2, n3, and a4 and lever t back to theirnormal position, while the weightp rights the lever n and stud g, so that when the belt J is next shitted onto the fast pulley the bar lo will be pushed in, so that the catch 7c shall slip over the tooth l and confine the belt upon the fast pulley until the stud q again releases the bar, and the spring h carries it back and ships the belt.

Having thus described our machine, we will remark that we do not intend to confine ourselves to the precise details of mechanism y herein described, but intend to vary the same as circumstances may dictate or require.

What we claim is- 1. The combination of mechanism herein described. for giving the carriage B its motion to and from the frame D, when such mechanism is used in lcombination with the shipping mechanism, as set forth.

2. The mechanism, substantially as described, yfor shipping the belt J from the fast onto the loose pulley and from the loose onto the fast pulley, for the purposes as set forth.

3. The employment of the tightened threads to actuate the shipping mechanism, as above described.

ALFR. HEAVEN. ROBERT SMITH.

Witnesses:

ROBERT Gines, CHARLES BROADBENT.

This mechanism operates v This depresses the lever t. which 

